The Ellicott City-based firm played a key — if behind the scenes — role in bringing the deal to fruition. Greg Hogan, a director at SC&H Capital, said the firm helped advise Datablink’s board and shareholders as it went about the acquisition. Companies seek out such firms when they are preparing for a deal. In SC&H Capital’s case, the firm looks to work with middle-market companies.

“What we do for them is basically prepare them for that process and run a marketing process to help identify and negotiate for potential buyers,” Hogan said. From a money perspective, maximizing valuations is an important part of the work, he said. The process typically takes 6-9 months.